Jeremiah :: Religion, Bible

Jeremiah 31:1-6 is the announcement of restoration, giving rest to Israel. Jeremiah 31:1, â€Å"At that time,† declares the LORD, â€Å"I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.† (NIV). â€Å"While the return from captivity is a good thing, it was a very difficult time, a time when the Jews, where threatened by those who occupied that land during the captivity and later by the Greeks and Romans. This restoration includes al the clans of Israel. Historically the Northern kingdom ceased to exist nearly 200 years prior to prophecy.† â€Å"Jeremiah’s great contribution to our understanding of messianic prophecy and how the New Testament relates to the Old Testament is that he explicitly describes a coming glorious â€Å"new† covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) that will replace the old one that Israel/Judah has shattered and annulled† (Pg. 174). â€Å"Chapters 30 and 31 contain no historical dates or ties to the reign of a king. This absence of dates or specific historical ties gives these first two chapters a certain timelessness. Also, in chapters 30-33 Jeremiah does not connect the future restoration to the downfall of Babylon. Instead, the restoration is tied theologically to the fulfillment of both the Abrahamic and the Davidic covenants-the new covenant and the associated blessings of restoration come as a fulfillment of those prior covenants (which are not broken)† (Pg. 174). Exodus 6:5-8, â€Å"Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.â€Å"Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you ou t from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD’† (NIV). How theme contributes to Jeremiah’s message-wailing, weeping, rejoicing. â€Å"In the Septuagint, Lamentations is associate with Jeremiah, who is identified as the author† (Pg. 193). â€Å"The poet of Lamentations will rise briefly above his agonized cry from the ashes to reaffirm the faithfulness of Yahweh and to pray for the restoration† (Pg.